Airplane Boys in the Black Woods

tion Co

glancing over the side of the plane the Flying Buddies had borrowed while the "Lark," their own

at out?" Jim Austin demanded. "I

tooth ought to be great to

d start competition," Austin answered. "Well," he added as the plane came to a stop, "this sure looks

ick, eyes sunken so deep in his head that they looked like burnt holes in a blanket, his huge mouth was wide open and from the upper jaw was the lone tooth. His only garment was an irregular bit of tiger skin suspended from a narrow woven grass belt which looked as if it might once have been decorated with a long fringe but only a few of the

s alive?" Ji

at the queer creature of the forest gave a slight shudder which went from the top of his bald head to the soles of his bare feet, on

k Antony did he go?" excl

seeing him again, but we don't want to get too far from the plane, Old Timer, and we'd better watch our step. We

," lamen

ted to study that ve

any variety of life I

ly by chance that Caldwell had noticed the small clear space and suggested that they land and see what it was like. The clearing was less than an acre of hard soil with a ridge of sharp rocks which protruded like saw-teeth diagonally across. It looked as if sharp-edged slabs of stone had been dropped when the soil was less packed; or it

ches, but their massive limbs started more than half way up the boles, and each one overlapped with his neighbor so thick that the intense sun could not penetrate the foliage. Beneath were smaller growths, many with long tangled roots twisted in grotesque shapes

great age for the opening through which the water had found its way, was worn in a smooth, deep groove. The basin itself was about three feet across in the wid

hat ours are the first human feet to hit this place. Sa

ears," Jim admitted. His eyes were searching the dome-l

s old enough. Perhaps he just dropped down from heaven to have

expect to learn around here, Buddy? You never can get into the forest, not far, anyw

y, the Elephant's Child has nothing o

e extent, but you remember how said Child got his no

im in mind,"

nate the clearing. "Suppose it could be the top

losely, but they kept close to the machine. "Reckon we'd bette

dshaw's helicopter instead o

hat I'd rather

ing about the whole scene and he felt that they would be safer with their own plane, which had numerous e

more than a couple of weeks and look how long we've been hanging around down here. I'd

im nodded with

his climate. We have to wait for the 'Lark,' the message tube

rdon's," supp

se that he was congratulating himself that we didn't

s face when he opened the empty one. Silv

m you without so much as a yelp I might have known it was flukey. We couldn't put up a fight, all tied around like

lew over the 'Lark' and dropped the big boy on our wi

of water. That spring looks good enough to be the fountain of life. Bet

ing around b

'd better stay here. My massive brain informs me that if some fe

e are miles of

e from the "Lark" to the good-natured Canadian's helicopter when they started on this observation trip. Bob hoped he might discover, among the wild tropical growths, some fruits, roots or herbs which could be raised advantageously on his mother's own ranch, the Cross-Bar in Texas. He was intensely interested in flying, thoroughly appreciated the joys and practicality o

em both?"

might like to h

Maybe you'll see h

ing loosely in his hand, to see that nothing happened to the plane. Austin watched the younger boy stop at the lovely spring, scoo

drink any more. I do not know

, homes of the once famous race of the Yncas, as well as their vast laboratories. He knew that the lost empire had extended no further north than Quito, hundreds of miles south of them, but he knew also that at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, this northern portion of South America had been inhabited by intelligent Indians whose origin none could trace. They too had built amazing temples, and it occurred to the boy that five hundred years ago, when the remnant of the conquered tribe had gotten together,

cognized the green emerald rings given the Flying Buddies by Yncicea Haurea and had told them to 'go in peace' but today, the ancient who had stood like a man struck dumb in amazement, had made no such identifi

far from the whites as he can get. Our dropping down on him was a surprise, and the minute he got his wind, he beat it. Just the same, his exit

place, and Jim wished that his step-brother would hurry with his investigations, but he appreciated the fact that Bob was thoroughly interested in what he was doing, and that it would be unfair to urge his ste

f any kind, it was too substantial looking, and another thing he observed was that it did not move with the wind, which was from the south, although the breeze did affect its direction somewhat.

lder, and now he hastily took them out and in a moment was examining th

t it was, then suddenly he remembered reading that every year the butterflies, their life work completed, start in a tremendous migration, drifting southeasterly along the sea coast until they finally reach the sea, where they drop exhausted into the water and die by the millions. He knew that science is unable to explain the strange instinct which prompts t

the "cloud" were thin, as if leaders or scouting parties were racing in advance, but from the main body so many were falling that they must have appeared like a strange sort of storm. Several minutes more he watched, then he rememb

g, then he stopped with a gasp, the shout died on his lip

ers whose many colors shone brilliantly in the sunshine, in one hand each held a long spear with a glistening point, while the other held a number of small, deadly-looking darts. One of the men had an arm raised, his body was bent sl